Radiant heating apparatus



1386- 1963 E. H. CALHOUN RADIANT HEATING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 17, 1961 mu N 1 INVENTORE .ER YgEST N.CALHouN MM TTQQ/Vf) United States Patent 3,116,399 RADIANT ITEATRWG APPARATUS Ernest N. Calhoun, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Edwin L. Wiegand Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. Filed Jan. 17, E61, Ser. No. 83,241 3 Claims. (Cl. 219-34) The present invention relates to heating apparatus, more particularly to heating apparatus for deicing railroad cars and the like, and the principal object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus of the character described.

The transportation of bulk commodities such as coal and the like in open railroad cars during freezing weather presents serious unloading difficulties. These difliculties arise by reasons of the fact that rain and/or snow comingles with the commodity being hauled and then freezes to impede subsequent discharge of the commodity from the car.

It has been proposed to direct radiant heat to the lower portion of the frozen car to melt the accumulated ice so that the car may be dumped in the usual manner by either tilting the car bodily or by opening discharge openings in the sides and/or bottom thereof. While the use of radiant heat for car thawing works very well, serious problems arise when prior art apparatus is used.

For maximum efliciency, it has been customary to mount radiant heaters between the rails so as to concentrate the heat generated thereby directly on the underside of the car. With the heaters thus positioned, however, they are continually subjected to a deluge of water as the ice melts and to considerable quantities of the commodity being hauled which fall through the usually imperfectly fitting discharge doors on the underside of the car. This falling material collects on the usual reflectors which underlie the radiant heat generators and very drastically reduce their reflective efiiciency. This makes suspension of operations and cleaning of the reflectors at very frequent intervals mandatory.

The present invention provides efficient under-car radiant heater apparatus which is self cleaning so that it may be operated continuously for protracted periods of time with no loss of emciency. Other advantages will readily become apparent from a study of the following description and from the drawing appended hereto.

In the drawing accompanying this specification and forming a part of this application there is shown, for purpose of illustration, an embodiment which the invention may assume, and in this drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a broken view, in longitudinal section, taken through a preferred embodiment of the present in vention, and

FIGURE 2 is a transverse sectional view generally corresponding to the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

With reference to the drawing and in the present embodiment, a pit lltl is formed between respective rails 11 adjacent the place where the railroad car is to be dumped. This pit may be of any suitable length but will ordinarily be long enough to span the length of at least one railroad car.

As best seen in FIGURE 2, suitable housings 12 are disposed on opposite sides of the pit and extend longitudinally of the rails. As herein disclosed, tubular metallic sheathed electric resistance heating elements 13 in spaced, side-by-side relation extend transversely of the rails between the housings 12, the latter enclosing and protecting the element terminal ends and providing junction boxes in which the necessary electrical connections may be made thereto. As will be understood, a suflicient number of elements will ordinarily be provided to extend from end to end of the car so that an entire car may be deiced at one time.

Still referring to FIGURE 2, a screen 14 is spaced above the elements 13 and in the present embodiment, such screen spans the housings l2 and rests thereupon. This screen is preferably coextensive with the longitudinal extension of the heating elements so as to overlie all portions thereof. The function of screen 14 is to prevent large pieces of coal, or other material contained in the car to be deiced, from gravitating to the heating elements and resting thereupon where they would impair air flow over the elements thus causing possible overheating and damage thereof. Accordingly, the openings in screen 14 need only be small enough to catch material pieces of a size which might lodge between the heaters. Smaller pieces, those small enough to readily fall between the heaters, present no such problem and thus may be permitted to pass through the screen.

Since radiant heating elements radiate heat in all directions, means are provided for reflecting the heat generated by the elements 13 upwardly to the overlying car. In the present embodiment, a unique type of reflector is provided to prevent the accumulation of fallen debris thereon which would seriously impair its reflective efficiency.

As best seen in FIGURE 1, a pair of rollers l5, 16 are rotatably mounted in the pit it) beneath the elements 13 and are spaced from each other longitudinally of the rails. Each of these rollers is of a length to closely fit between the adjoining faces of the housings 112 as may be seen in FIGURE 2. Trained over the rolls l5, 16 is an endless web 17 of material providing an upper reach 18 spaced just beneath the elements 13 and a lower reach 19. The web is preferably of a width to extend from end to end of the rollers and is formed of a suitable heat-resistant, reflective material. In the present embodiment, the web is formed of stainless steel highly polished on one side to provide a reflective surface on the upper face of reach 18.

Means are provided for driving web 17 and as herein disclosed, a suitable electric motor 20 is connected to roller 16 by means of chain or belt 2?. to rotate such roller in the direction of the arrow. This will cause web movement in the direction indicated by the arrows adjacent respective web reaches as will be understood.

With the construction thus far disclosed, a car to be deiced will be positioned to overlie the heating elements 13 with the latter energized and with the web moving in the direction indicated. As the heat radiated from the elements 13, concentrated and reflected by the upper web reach it begins to warm the contents of the overlying car, a certain amount of the contents of the car, together with melted ice, will inevitably gravitate from the car since it door openings seldom close prefectly. Such material, herein referred to as debris, will fall through the screen 14, between the elements 313 and come to rest upon the upper surface of web reach 18. Pieces of debris large enough to be caught by the screen 14 will remain harmlessly thereon and, if combustible, will burn and add to the heat generated by the heating elements.

Since web 17 is continually moving in the direction indicated, the debris which falls on the upper reach 18 will be carried to the left end where it will fall from the web (as seen at A) as it passes over the roller 15. Thus, debris cannot accumulate on the reflective surface of web reach 18 to impair its reflective efliciency. If desired, web 17 could be extended to discharge the debris at the place where the car will subsequently be dumped. Alternatively, a conveyor or the like may be employed to transport the fallen debris from the pit 10 to the dumping place.

When the car has been sufiiciently deiced, it will be moved from above the elements 13 to a place where its contents will be dumped and another car to be deiced will be positioned above the heating elements for a repetition of the deicing operation.

Since the fallen debris on the reflective surface of the web 17 may tend to become baked thereon as a result of the intense heat from the elements, some of this material may not gravitate from the web as it passes over roller 15. In order to remove this sticking material, a brush member 22 is suitably mounted beneath the web reach 19 for engagement of its bristles with the moving web reflective surface. While brush member 22 is herein disclosed as being stationary, a moving brush could readily be employed if desired. Such a brush could be reciprocable edgewise of the web to more thoroughly remove any material sticking thereto or such brush could be of a rotating type. Furthermore it is contemplated that other means could be used, either alone or with one or more of the brushes aforementioned, for insuring removal of material stuck to the web. Such other means could include, for example, blast of air or perhaps a spray of water.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiment herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiment is illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. A car heating device and the like comprising electric heating element means having portions disposed in spaced, side-byside relation beneath the car to be heated, a grid disposed above said element means for catching debris which may fall from the overlying car and which is not of a size small enough to freely gravitate between adjoining element means portions, a pair of rollers whose rotational axes extend in a generally horizontal direction transversely of the car and which rollers are disposed beneath said element means and spaced longitudinally of the car, an endless heat-resistant Web trained over said rollers to provide vertically spaced upper and lower web reaches beneath said element means, said web having a polished heat-reflective surface facing upwardly on said upper web reach to direct the heat generated by said element means to the overlying car, means effecting rotation of one of said rollers to move said web and cause gravitation of fallen debris from said heat-reflective web surface to thus maintain reflective efficiency thereof, and means engaged with said reflective web surface at the lower web reach for dislodging from such surface debris which may fail to gravitate therefrom.

2. Means for heating railroad cars and the like, comprising a pair of tracks along which said cars are wheeled,

a heating station at a place along said tracks to and from which a car is wheeled, said station including a pit between said tracks and extending generally the length of a car, heating means straddling said pit, a grid overlying said heating means to shield the same from large debris which may fall from a car while permitting heat from said heating means to pass upwardly therethrough, a roller journalled at each end of said pit, an endless heatresistant web underlying said heating means and trained over said rollers and providing upper and lower reaches therebetween, said web having an outer heat-reflective surface so that the upper reach directs heat upwardly, and means for effecting movement of said web about said rollers to cause successive portions of the latter to constitute said upper reach.

3. Means for heating railroad cars and the like, comprising a pair of tracks along which said cars are wheeled, a heating station at a place along said tracks to and from which a car is wheeled, said station including a pit between said tracks and extending generally the length of a car, a pair of elongated housings, each extending lengthwise along a track edge, a plurality of rod-like electric heaters extending crosswise of said pit and having opposite terminal ends disposed within respective housings, a grid overlying said heaters to shield the same from large debris which may fall from a car while permitting heat from said heaters to pass upwardly therethrough, a roller journalled at each end of said pit, an endless heatresistant web underlying said heaters and trained over said rollers and providing upper and lower reaches therebetween, said web having an outer heat-reflective surface so that the upper reach directs heat upwardly, means for effecting movement of said web about said rollers to cause successive portions of the latter to constitute said upper reach, and means for removing debris encrusted on said outer surface of said web to maintain effective reflective properties.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,587,023 Mottlau June 1, 1926 2,349,300 Olsen May 23, 1944 2,360,257 Muller et al. Oct. 10, 1944 2,812,706 Del Francia et al. Nov. 12, 1957 3,023,296 Barber Feb. 27, 1962 3,036,191 Aitken et a1 May 22, 1962 3,061,703 Barber Oct. 30, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 751,813 Germany Apr. 12, 1954 

2. MEANS FOR HEATING RAILROAD CARS AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING A PAIR OF TRACKS ALONG WHICH SAID CARS ARE WHEELED, A HEATING STATION AT A PLACE ALONG SAID TRACKS TO AND FROM WHICH A CAR IS WHEELED, SAID STATION INCLUDING A PIT BETWEEN SAID TRACKS AND EXTENDING GENERALLY THE LENGTH OF A CAR, HEATING MEANS STRADDLING SAID PIT, A GRID OVERLYING SAID HEATING MEANS TO SHIELD THE SAME FROM LARGE DEBRIS WHICH MAY FALL FROM A CAR WHILE PERMITTING HEAT FROM SAID HEATING MEANS TO PASS UPWARDLY THERETHROUGH, A ROLLER JOURNALLED AT EACH END OF SAID PIT, AN ENDLESS HEATRESISTANT WEB UNDERLYING SAID HEATING MEANS AND TRAINED OVER SAID ROLLERS AND PROVIDING UPPER AND LOWER REACHES THEREBETWEEN, SAID WEB HAVING AN OUTER HEAT-REFLECTIVE SURFACE SO THAT THE UPPER REACH DIRECTS HEAT UPWARDLY, AND MEANS FOR EFFECTING MOVEMENT OF SAID WEB ABOUT SAID ROLLERS TO CAUSE SUCCESSIVE PORTIONS OF THE LATTER TO CONSTITUTE SAID UPPER REACH. 